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Sunday, November 30, 2014

I played with my new Taylored Expressions Sweater Weather die this evening. I drew inspiration from socks I had knit for my older sister a few years ago using a yarn that was variegated so even though I only used it and white, the variegation had a lot of value-add to the pattern. For you knitters, this pattern is a variation of Mamluke in Folk Socks (I changed up the heel for durability).

To mimic the socks, I did a watercolor wash using shades of teal and green. (I love this combo and must remember it for the future.) I used the die with a metal shim while the paper was still slightly wet; it cut very cleanly. I based the card on Freshly Made Sketches #119 after I did a search for a sketch with a skewed panel; I went quite literal with the star featured on the sketch. I like silver with the green and teal so used that on the stars and embossed sentiment. Rather unconventional holiday card but, hey, so am I (unconventional, that is). :-)

Saturday, November 29, 2014

I'm all bummed out today because I opted not to go to a crafty get-together with some bloggy friends because of the snow and the expected additional 5 inches. I was so looking forward to it--poo! I guess on the plus side, I get to spend some extra time with the kids who we don't see often. I guess. ;-)

I made these make and takes for the gals. Cute, huh? Since I wasn't able to give them their little kits, I'm hoping to mail them.

I used my Cameo a lot for this project--created cut files for the ME Arctic Penguins for mass production stamping and created stitched and regular tags. Oh, the banners too. It's times like these I'm glad I have a Cameo.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I found some extra Christmas cards from years past and decided to alter them to include in my Caring Hearts pile.

I first cut out the portions of the original Unicef cards I wanted to use. I didn't worry about trying to cut out exactly the same area each time. With the tree card I die cut some cardinals and popped those over the existing cardinals. On the other I sponged a snowflake with Brilliance ink and popped it over the printed snowflakes. For both I stamped a sentiment outside and in. I then mounted these upscaled fronts onto a cover stock base. Easy peasy, huh?

Monday, November 24, 2014

I bought this a new product to try over the weekend--molding paste by Art C. Have you heard of it? It's thinner than my regular embossing paste by Dreamweaver and is slightly tacky. I've come to the conclusion it reminds of diluted caulk.

I spread it over my star embossing folder and set it aside to dry. I'm guessing that took about 15 minutes but I was multitasking. I then cut out the Seattle skyline twice, once in silver cardstock and again in black to serve as the offset shadow. I stamped the sentiment before gluing the two skylines together. I popped up the silver glitter paper star. Don't you love all the different metallic elements?

My plan is to use this card as a Christmas and Happy New Year card. I need to keep a look out for a good New Year's sentiment.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

A very simple card today. I couldn't resist using my new MB die. I certainly am getting my money's worth out of that holly berry embossing folder. I've colored the leaves and flames with chalk inks; I can't even remember the last time I used that stuff. The berries are colored with marker. Very pretty and vintage. You really can't tell in the photo but the chalk inks are pearlescent.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

I picked up yet another Lawn Fawn set which has proven to be very versatile. It will be even more so once I get around to using the matching dies. I tried a few variations of this card. Which is your fav? Btw, this would make a great one-layer card too.

Stamp the sentiment. I liked it best north of vertical center. I did find it easier if planning to mount this to cut it to the right size prior to stamping.

Mask the sentiment. I used washi tape (this particular one makes me smile but it's lost most of its sticky so perfect for masking but that's about it. Under other circumstances I would have used my Scotch removable tape.) Stamp greenery in a few colors of green for interest. Stamping off works too.

Stamp a few pine cones. I stamped the pinecones in a lighter brown than the sentiment.

Remove the mask and add the berries. I covered mine in Glossy Accents.

So easy and entertaining. I like how each card will be similar but not the same. Truly handmade!

Friday, November 21, 2014

I so love the texture and depth of this twist on a more traditional card. My kid sis rehabilitates the blind so we're always on the look out for things that would work well for a person who's visually impaired. Close your eyes and imagine what you'd "see": the edges where the green panel meets the red, nubbly background stars, a raised line, the shape of the tree, the texture of the washi tape, the edges where the different tapes meet, the popped up star's dotty edges and slick feel, the embossing on the sentiment. A lot to experience, no? I need to ask my kid sis if her braille machine would work with this cardstock. If not, Enamel Accents?

Also, on my soapbox here, visually impaired isn't just blind. Many of us will experience degenerating sight as we age (argh) so think about those people in your life who may appreciate receiving a card with texture, larger sentiments (I specifically bought this HA set because of the sentiment sizes) and high contrast.

With this card I went with happy blue colors on the panel to anchor the skating penguin.
I sponged on some iridescent ink afterwards for shimmer. I
love the LF snow stamp, don't you? I used pigment ink and stamped some
outside of the panel. Hopefully the recipient will notice that fun detail. Next stamped the sentiment and the penguin I
colored with markers. Remarkable the depth that splash of yellow
on its belly creates. Of course, also makes me think of pee.

I wasn't satisifed with my early attempt at the panel so ended up making myself a rectangular sponging stencil out of chipboard. It's a really good size for a focal panel so expect to see it regularly in the future. I tend to press too hard at first when I sponge and thus leave spong marks. Ugh. The chipboard stencil helps because I start sponging on top of it and then move over the cardstock. It's the perfect thickness to allow my heavy hand to transition without blobs of color. Love!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Last year my kid sis gave me a bunch of Xmas stickers, borders, printed vellum, etc. Really nice but they've been gathering dust as I'm not much of a sticker person and then it occurred to me I could put them to really good use for the Caring Hearts Card Drive. Ding, ding, ding!

These are just a sample of some of the cards I made using the gifted supplies. Honestly, I felt like I was phoning it in because the borders and vellum do the work so I stitched the elements on and/or added dry embossing to make the cards more handmade. The stitching was a no brainer since I already had the machine out after I whipped up a new bed for Frankie, having tossed out his fleecy flea-ridden one (ewww!). He loves his new craft table bed and I love his flea meds. Win, win!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Lots of challenges calling for fancy dancy metallics lately. I couldn't resist mixing that with my new nature stamp (oh, how I love it!). Really, really, really hard to tell in the photo but the image is stamped in gold and snowflakes rubbed with silver. Okay, decided to take a picture better illustrating the fantastic shimmer. Notice the backdrop? That's the same one on the right side of the above pic but in focus. Such a difference.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Oh, how I love the simplicity of white on white. And that pop of red--marvelous! If I had a signature look, this would be a contender.

I first stamped the sentiment then applied the embossing paste to the falling snow stencil. Before removing the stencil, I sprinkled on glitter. I wasn't sure if it would stick over time but it's held up remarkably well. Notice how I added a blob of paste at the bottom of the tree plus glitter to represent accumulated snow--conceals the tree base so it wouldn't be floating.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Amy Tsuruta is celebrating 7 years of card blogging and is asking folks to submit cards from their first year of blogging.

I didn't start this blog until September last year which doesn't seem old enough so I dug way deeper and found some old cards of mine which I actually don't hate. Old as in 2003ish. Don't hate as in things I would tweak (a lot in some cases) but things I still love (stamped vellum over a stamped panel).

As you can see, a decade ago brads were the shizzle (oh, yes, I just wrote that). And mulberry paper. I still have a wad of it because I'm sure it'll come back into vogue just as my ripped jeans did. ;-) Oh my gosh, look at the deckled edges of the sheep. Ha! I just checked and I still have those scissors. Funny how we hang onto things.

Update 17 Nov 2014: Thanks to Karren who recognized the first cards were made with Stampin' Up Botanicals. We both still love that set. I believe the farm cards were SU too except for the background of the sheep card. I still have that one which is Hero Arts (??).

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I have a second card for the TIME OUT mid-challenge inspiration that I hope sparks your creativity. For this one I pulled from the embroidery on the pillow, the white of the sofa, Noel on the shelf and the horizontal lines throughout.

Here I masked off a strip on top, stamped it in Versamark and embossed it in gold. Next I stamped and embossed the sentiment and glued on a small heart gem in the middle. Gotta love how quickly OLCs can come together.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

If you've been following my blog a while, you may know that I'm a knitter who is obsessed with fair isle. (These are my nephews and niece putting my FI knits to good use.) There are so many ways to play with it, even in my cards now. Squee!

Really simple one-layer card here. Of note, I stamped the bottom half of Stampendous Winter Birds for the evergreen bough and added Wink of Stella to the snow for some sparkle.

I can't leave out my cute kitty when I'm showcasing cute kiddies, now can I? I've chosen a pic from when we first got him at about 6 months old. If only he were wearing fair isle too. LOL.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

I am very excited to be guest designing over at TIME OUT Challenges this round where you're to use the inspiration picture shown. This is one of my fav types of challenges because you can draw from the elements in the pic that move you. So many possibilities!

In my case, I wanted to capture the softness of the pic (simple colors, candlelight glow), the elements of nature brought in by the pinecones and the words in the form of wall art and upcycled wood pallet coffee table. Ack--love the pic so much!

The card is self-explanatory. Stamped the background with pigment ink and also used it on the pinecone ribbon to brighten it compared to the watercolor paper. Added Glossy Accents to shine up the berries. Better seen in person, of course.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Way simple card today. I love this set from Impress, a local stamp shop. So many perfect elements to make uniquely Seattle holiday cards. Wow, now that I think about it, when was the last time I used stamps from one set only? The card is self-explanatory; the snow was created by flicking the pigment ink.

Monday, November 3, 2014

I love how this card turned out which is weird. Weird because I love hot pink but soft shimmery pink covered in gold and floaty hearts? Yeah, weird. But true! I actually made a couple of cards with this pink so keep your eyes peeled.

Are you participating in the Caring Hearts Card Drive? I thought this sentiment was perfect for giving to someone you don't know necessarily but still conveys caring. I embossed it in gold and then impressed some hearts. Ultra simple and very post friendly.